Being and remaining mindfully open to the present moment and what is happening here, now–and what is called for in meeting the moment as the moment needs to be met–is an automatic, spontaneous, realization akin to enlightenment and awakening in each moment that comes along. Knowing what’s what here, now and what the situation is asking us to do in response is as enlightened as anyone needs to be in any place at any time. And we can manage that just by dropping into the emptiness, stillness and silence and waiting for “the mud to settle and the water to clear.” Babies do it all the time. And cats and dogs and giant sequoias. They don’t think about it. They just know it by being open to it. Without wants and wishes, desires, cravings and aspirations getting in the way.
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 